The Freedom Party of Ontario (FPO or FpO; French: Parti de la Liberté - Ontario) is a provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was founded on January 1, 1984 in London, Ontario by Robert Metz and Marc Emery. The Freedom Party has fielded candidates in every provincial election since 1985, and in several by-elections. It has also participated in numerous public policy debates, often on contentious social issues.

In 1980 a schism occurred in the libertarian movement in Ontario, with several members of the Libertarian Party, unhappy with its direction and democratic structure, left and formed the Objectivist-influencedUnparty.[2] In 1984, under the leadership of Marc Emery and Robert Metz, the Unparty's name changed to the Freedom Party of Ontario.[3][4]

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Freedom Party of Ontario's founding principle is that "Every individual, in the peaceful pursuit of personal fulfillment, has an absolute right to his or her own life, liberty, and property.[5] Freedom Party of Ontario's stated objectives are threefold: (a) to encourage voters to vote for FPO candidates in provincial elections and by-elections; (b) to influence government through the election of FPO members of the Ontario provincial Legislature, for the better protection in Ontario of every individual’s rights of life, liberty and property; and (c) to build and support the FPO as an organization of people who will work toward the achievement of Objectives (a) and (b).[6]

The party has, from its inception in 1984, summarized its platform with the statement "Freedom Party believes that the purpose of government is to protect our freedom of choice, not to restrict it".[7] The party advocates government that takes into account only claims backed by evidence. It submits that all government laws and decisions must be logical, and must at all times serve the purpose of ensuring that no person's life, liberty, or property is taken without his consent.[8]

Freedom Party holds the pursuit of one's own happiness to be an individual's highest moral purpose. To that end, it rejects libertarianism (which it holds is implicitly moral relativistic and anti-government), and instead champions governmental defence of the individual values of life, liberty, property.[citation needed]

The Freedom Party of Ontario was founded by a number of people based in the London, Ontario area, including Robert Metz and Marc Emery of London, who had founded The London Tribune (a broadsheet daily newspaper) in London in 1980 [9] and, later published the London Metrobulletin (beginning in March 1983[10]). Toward the end of 1983, Metz assumed the registration of the Toronto-based Unparty which folded and closed its Toronto office.[11] Elections Ontario approved the party's name change on October 19, 1983.[12] Because Metz and Emery were turning their attention to electoral politics, the final issue of the London Metrobulletin was published in December 1983.[13] Freedom Party of Ontario was officially launched on January 1, 1984[14] with its head office in London. Freedom Party of Ontario's founding platform was summarized in the statement "Freedom Party believes that the purpose of government is to protect our freedom of choice, not to restrict it."[15]

The FPO was best known during the 1980s for its campaigns against censorship and provincial laws that restricted Sunday shopping. Robert Metz, the party's first president, spoke for the FPO in 1987 when he argued that the Sunday shopping debate was fundamentally about freedom of choice for the retailer and consumer.[16] Leading FPO members also opposed legal restrictions on pornography that depicts consensual sex between consenting adults, and opposed the prohibition of marijuana, arguing that the state did not have the right to legislate in such matters.[17]

Metz became the first leader of the party in 1987, and served until 1994 when he was replaced by Jack Plant. Plant stepped down in 1997, and was replaced by Lloyd Walker. All of the party's leaders between 1987 and 2002 were from London, and the party's activities were organized primarily from that city. The party newsletter, Freedom Flyer, was published on an occasional basis, and back copies are available online.

The Freedom Party has opposed government restrictions on free speech and freedom of expression throughout its existence, arguing that the state has no right to intervene except in cases of fraud, defamation, or the commission of crimes such as sex with children. Marc Emery frequently challenged Canada's censorship laws during his years as an FPO organizer, via the private bookstore he operated in London. He continued to do so after resigning from FPO in 1990.

The FPO took a civil libertarian stance on hate speech and the rights of individuals to express political opinions, whether those opinions are rational or irrational, unoffensive or offensive, popular or unpopular. In 1999, the London police wrote to Raphael Bergmann and Tyler Chilcott alleging that they were members of the Northern Alliance. The letter stated that, as they belonged to an "extreme right-wing" group they were "required" to report to the police to explain their opinions. The FPO's then leader, Lloyd Walker requested that Solicitor-GeneralDavid Tsubouchi provide a list of "extreme" political beliefs that could result in such police action. No response was provided by the government, and nothing more came of the matter. here. Bergmann and Chilcott were never FPO members and the party did not support their views, simply their right to express them.[21]

The party was partly restructured in 2002, when Oshawa lawyer Paul McKeever replaced Walker as party leader. McKeever argues that the FPO is now targeted toward building an electoral base and that a new organization, Freedom Party International, has taken on its prior advocacy role. FPI now publishes the former FPO journal, Consent.

On October 4, 2005, the FPO released its 2007 election platform. It focused on competition in health care and education, repealing price controls on electricity, the replacement of property taxes with consumption taxes, and the elimination of the provincial income tax.[23]

The FPO is affiliated with the Freedom Party of Canada (FPC), an unregistered political party which was founded by Paul McKeever and Robert Metz on July 20, 2001. It is also affiliated with Freedom Party International, which is not a political party but an organization founded to advocate and promote the party's philosophy, and to serve as the authority that must be consulted by any persons wishing to form an affiliated political party. FPO, FPC, FPUSA and FPI are not affiliated with the Freedom Party of British Columbia, the Freedom Party of Manitoba or other parties styled as "Freedom Party".

^Unparty founder Marilou Gutscher and Freedom Party founder Robert Metz explain the demise of Unparty and the founding of Freedom Party of Ontario, in "The Principle of Pot" documentary by Paul McKeever ([7])

^Annual report of the Chief Election Officer of Ontario for the year 2006 ([8])